The Dark Origins of International Copyright Law

The Dark Origins of International Copyright Law

From Working for the Word - a Bible translation podcast by Andrew Case

July 12, 2026 · 52 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the complexities of international copyright law in relation to Bible translation and the potential for organizations to adopt public domain policies.

This is the beginning of two episodes that deal with the legality issues that organizations face when they want to obey Scripture and make Scripture free. This has come about based on some conversations I've had with YWAM on the possibility of their organization switching to a public domain publishing policy for their translated Scripture. As you may know, YWAM has become heavily invested in Bible translation in recent years, and they are doing a lot of work around the world. I would love to see them lead the way in showing the translation organizations that it's not only possible to release Scripture as public domain, but it is blessed. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Now, to set the stage for the complex international copyright legality issues, we have to understand a few things that this podcast episode is gonna cover. The first is that copyright and patent law are a perversion of justice, far from a stance of natural rights and biblical law. Each Christian needs to decide, when they're faced with a perversion of justice, whether they will follow that or whether they will walk in the footsteps of the Hebrew midwives, Rahab, Moses's parents, Obadiah hiding the…

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Host: Andrew Case

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Organizations: YWAM

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